A former Bears returner breaks NFL record

A former Chicago Bears player had an up-and-down half. Cordarrelle Patterson fumbled the ball in the second quarter setting up a Bears score. He took the kick return after that touchdown to the endzone for his current team, the Atlanta Falcons.

In doing so, Patterson broke the record for kick return touchdowns. Patterson now has nine kick return touchdowns in his career. He was tied with Josh Cribbs and Leon Washington with eight kick return touchdowns before Sunday’s game. That’s a huge accomplishment for the Former Bears return man.

Patterson was one of the best return men the Bears have had. But he’s not in the same league as Devin Hester. Hester had five kick returns for touchdowns. However, his punt return record is safe for this season. Hester had 14 punt returns for his career. That record isn’t going away any time soon.

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Cole Kmet’s breakout is happening in front of our very eyes.

Tight end Cole Kmet has been Justin Fields’ most valuable go-to receiver this season as the Chicago Bears try to integrate their passing game with Fields’ athletic abilities. Kmet had 23 catches on 33 targets for 274 yards and a team-high five receiving touchdowns entering Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons.

The Bears had first-and-10 at their own 49-yard line with 10:18 left in the first half of Sunday’s game, and Fields wanted to go deep to Kmet. That decision was made far wiser by the tight end, who somehow went Animal Style over cornerback A.J. Terrell for the incredible one-handed catch.

If five touchdowns in three games wasn’t enough to put him on your radar, this insane grab will:

Per Luis Medina “Who knew that Cole Kmet had this in him? A player who went a good two years without scoring a touchdown is so deep in his bag of tricks that he is making one-handed catches now. What a remarkable development”.

The catch aided the Bears’ next scoring drive. It was merely a field goal. He has nine catches and 115 receiving yards in the last two weeks, by far his most productive two-game stretch of the season.

Fans react on Twitter

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Southern California moved into the top five of The Associated Press college football poll Sunday for the first time in five years.

Georgia received 62 of the 63 first-place votes in the AP Top 25 presented by Regions Bank as the top four teams held their places after playing varying degrees of close games Saturday.

No. 2 Ohio State received the other first-place vote. Michigan was No. 3 again, followed by TCU.

The fifth-ranked Trojans edged up two spots after a thrilling victory against rival UCLA. The last time USC was ranked in the top five was September of 2017, when it started at No. 4 but spent most of the season ranked in the teens before finishing 12th.

Lincoln Riley’s first season as USC coach has produced one of the best turnarounds in the country, with the Trojans going from four wins to 10, and the regular-season finale against No. 13 Notre Dame and a Pac-12 championship game still to go.

“If you would have told me at the end of last season I would be here now with this group of guys and being able to play for a championship, I would have called you a dead liar. Just being completely honest,” USC fourth-year receiver Kyle Ford told reporters after the UCLA game. “I’m just so thankful for everyone on this team.”

LSU stayed at No. 6. Clemson moved up two spots to No. 7. Alabama held at eighth and Tennessee dropped four spots to No. 9 after getting upset in a blowout at South Carolina.

In their 63-38 victory, the Gamecocks scored more points against a top-five team as an unranked team than any in the history of the AP poll.

Oregon rounded out the top 10 after the Ducks beat Utah in the Pac-12’s other marquee game on Saturday night.

POLL POINTS

Georgia set a school record with its 10th appearance at No. 1 this season. Last year the Bulldogs had nine No. 1s, the most in school history.

Georgia has been at No. 1 a total of 34 times, tying Michigan for 12th most in the history of the AP poll, which dates to 1936.

Southern California is a top-five team for the 283rd time in poll history. That’s seventh most, 13 behind Nebraska.

The top five at being top five: Alabama (451), Oklahoma (430), Ohio State (418), Notre Dame (318) and Michigan (306).

IN

Texas, again.

The 24th-ranked Longhorns, who started the season unranked, have moved into the Top 25 four times. They haven’t managed to stay there for more than two weeks.

A blowout victory against Kansas pushed the Longhorns back into the rankings as they head toward a season finale against Baylor.

OUT

Oklahoma State lost its rivalry game against Oklahoma to drop to 7-4 and out of the rankings again.

CONFERENCE CALL

Pac-12 — 6 (Nos. 5, 10, 12, 14, 17, 22).

SEC — 5 (Nos. 1, 6, 8, 9, 20).

ACC — 3 (Nos. 7, 16, 18).

American — 3 (Nos. 19, 21, 25).

Big Ten — 3 (Nos. 2, 3, 11).

Big 12 — 3 (Nos. 4, 15, 24).

Sun Belt — 1 (No. 23).

Independent — 1 (No. 13).

RANKED vs. RANKED

Rivalry weekend’s highest stakes games:

— No. 19 Tulane at No. 21 Cincinnati, Friday. The winner hosts the AAC championship game.

— No. 10 Oregon at No. 22 Oregon State. First time since 2012 both are ranked.

— No. 3 Michigan at No. 2 Ohio State. The best combined ranking between the two were also 2-3 heading into the 2016, decided in overtime by a fourth-down spot.

— No. 13 Notre Dame at No. 5 USC. First time both have been ranked since 2017.

THE TOP 25

1. Georgia (62 first-place votes) 11-0

2. Ohio St. (1) 11-0

3. Michigan 11-0

4. TCU 11-0

5. Southern Cal 10-1

6. LSU 9-2

7. Clemson 10-1

8. Alabama 9-2

9. Tennessee 9-2

10. Oregon 9-2

11. Penn St. 9-2

12. Washington 9-2

13. Notre Dame 8-3

14. Utah 8-3

15. Kansas St. 8-3

16. Florida St. 8-3

17. UCLA 8-3

18. North Carolina 9-2

19. Tulane 9-2

20. Mississippi 8-3

21. Cincinnati 9-2

22. Oregon St. 8-3

23. Coastal Carolina 9-1

24. Texas 7-4

25. UCF 8-3

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Questions have remained over how exactly the Chicago Cubs would address their pitcher needs.

While the early free-agent links around the Chicago Cubs have been centered on the shortstops, followers of the sport know that they need to add a few starting pitchers this offseason. We’ve heard the mention of Kodai Senga of Japan, but that’s been the only big name attached to the Cubs on the pitching market until now.

Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic may have provided some insight per the Chicago’s search for starting pitchers as they named a duo that the Cubs have reportedly shown interest in.

“The Cubs continue to be active in the free-agent market for starting pitchers, a group that includes Kodai Senga, Chris Bassitt and Taijuan Walker on their radar.“

Of the two new starting pitchers added to the Cubs’ rumor mill, Bassitt seem more aligned with the needs of the franchise. After earning American League All-Star honors with the Oakland Athletics in 2021, he was traded to the New York Mets prior to the 2022 season.

With the Mets in 2022, Bassitt posted a 3.42 ERA, 3.66 FIP, and 90 ERA- (ERA- measures ERA adjusted for park and league where 100 is the average and lower is better) in 181.2 innings pitched. Bassitt also features a mid-90s fastball and would be a change of pace for the Cubs’ rotation.

Taijuan Walker, Bassitt’s teammate at Mets, had a similar season. Walker posted a 3.49 ERA, 3.65 FIP, and 92 ERA- in a tick over 157 innings pitched with the New York team last season.

Bassitt has proved to have more of consistent profile over the course of his career as opposed to Walker and that would be the reason why he represents as a better solution to the Cubs’ starting pitching needs this offseason.

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ATLANTA — Cordarrelle Patterson returned a kickoff 103 yards in the second quarter Sunday against the Bears to become the NFL’s all-time kickoff return king.

Patterson’s ninth career kickoff return for a touchdown is an NFL record. He was tied with Josh Cribbs and Leon Washington with eight kickoff return touchdowns entering the game, with two coming as a member of the Bears from 2019-20. Neither Cribbs nor Washington has played since 2014.

Patterson caught Cairo Santos’ kick three yards deep into the Mercedes-Benz Stadium end zone with 4:35 left in the first half and returned it up the middle. He wasn’t touched until inside the Bears’ 5, when he was tripped and tumbled into the end zone to go down 17-14.

To celebrate, Patterson took off his helmet and had teammate Olamide Zaccheaus place an imaginary crown on his head.

The Bears were wary of Patterson all week.

“He’s one of the best players to ever do it,” special teams coordinator Richard Hightower said Thursday. “So obviously we have a challenge kicking off there, but it’s a good challenge and I think Cairo is up for the challenge and I like where Cairo is. I mean, I like where he is in his mindset. …

“Am I worried about Cairo? I’m not. Am I worried about kickoff? I’m not. I’m excited. I’m ready to compete.”

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ATLANTA — The Bears have a couple of takeaways and are getting solid play from quarterback Justin Fields as they’re tied 17-17 with the Falcons at halftime.

Fields has completed 7 of 12 passes for 71 yards and a touchdown for a 103.1 passer rating. He also has run 14 times for 73 yards and a touchdown.Both teams scored on their opening possession, with the Falcons taking a 7-0 lead before the Bears answered.

The Bears got a big boost from the return of rookie Velus Jones, who had been a healthy scratch the last two games. He returned his first kickoff for 55 yards to set them up in Falcons territory, and the Bears quickly went 44 yards on seven plays. Fields capped the drive with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Darnell Mooney.

Their defense also has played well and has taken advantage of two Falcons fumbles.

Safety DeAndre Houston-Carson forced a fumble on punt coverage late in the first quarter to give the Bears the ball at the Atlanta 41-yard line, and in the middle of the second quarter safety Jaquan Brisker forced a fumble at the end of a 19-yard run by Falcons running back Cordarrelle Patterson. Cornerback Jaylon Johnson recovered that one and returned it to the Atlanta 28, and Fields eventually ran in for a four-yard touchdown.

The Bears came in having lost three in a row and six of their last seven, but Fields has been playing the best football of his career.

Over his last six games, Fields ran for 602 yards and five touchdowns at a rate of 8.6 per carry. He also has completed 63% of his passes and posted a 99.6 passer rating with 10 touchdown passes against three interceptions.

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Thirteen games are in the books….and it looks like we expected it to back in August. There’s always heat involved with doing rankings, so it is fun to take a victory lap when things work out.

The Class 7A title game features preseason No. 1 Mount Carmel against preseason No. 4 Batavia. The Class 8A title game is preseason No. 2 Lincoln-Way East vs. preseason No. 3 Loyola. Prairie Ridge, the preseason No. 8, is in the Class 6A title game against East St. Louis.

All five teams took different roads to Champaign, but there isn’t a surpise in the bunch.

That sets up a tremendous Saturday in Champaign. The state’s two Class 8A heavyweights facing off and Mount Carmel vs. Batavia is a rematch of last seasons’s great playoff game.

East St. Louis has to be dreading facing a triple option attack once again. Can Prairie Ridge pull of another stunning win for the Fox Valley?

Week 14’s Super 25With record and last week’s ranking

1. Mount Carmel (13-0) 17A: vs. No. 4 Batavia

2. Loyola (12-1) 28A: vs. No. 3 Lincoln-Way East

3. Lincoln-Way East (13-0) 38A: vs. No. 2 Loyola

4. Batavia (10-3) 97A: vs. No. 1 Mount Carmel

5. Prairie Ridge (12-1) 86A: vs. East St. Louis

6. York (12-1) 4Season complete

7. Lemont (12-1) 7Season complete

8. Glenbard West (11-2) 5Season complete

9. St. Rita (10-3) 6Season complete

10. Nazareth (9-4) 125A: vs. Peoria

11. Lake Zurich (11-2) 12Season complete

12. Sycamore (12-1) 11Season complete

13. Maine South (9-3) 13Season complete

14. Crete-Monee (9-3) 14Season complete

15. St. Charles North (10-2) 15Season complete

16. Warren (10-2) 16Season complete

17. Lyons (9-3) 17Season complete

18. Marist (8-3) 18Season complete

19, Simeon (11-1) 19Public League champs

20. Hersey (10-1) 20Season complete

21. Providence (9-4) 224A: vs. Sacred Heart-Griffin

22. St. Ignatius (10-3) 21Season complete

23. Morris (10-3) 23Season complete

24. IC Catholic (12-1) 243A: vs. Williamsville

25. St. Francis (11-2) 25Season complete

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